good morning. it's on. engineers testing a new tighter fitting cap on that leaking oil well pipe in the gulf today just hours after it was lowered into position. how and when will they know if it is doing its job? chilling words in the new bombshell recordin mel gibson seems to admit punching the mother of his infant daughter in the face. what kind of man is that? >> oh, you're all angry now. >> you know what? >> you [ bleep ] deserved it. >> this morning the impact those words could have on the police investigation. and "today" exclusive, how is 4-year-old alisa maier doing

one week after the end of her frightening abduction at the hands of a complete stranger? she is here along with their family and they'll tell us, "today," tuesday, july 13, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. i missed you. >> i missed you, too. nice to see you. several days apart. this morning 85 days in this agonizing ordeal there could finally be some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to this disaster in the gulf. >> that's right. that new sealing cap was mounted on to the busted pipe late last night offering new pope that bp will be able to capture all of the oil that is gushing out as early as today. we're going to get the late nest a live report straight ahead. also ahead the 19-year-old barefoot bandit is set to make

his first court appearance after being abducted. what colton harris-moore was up to just hours before he was arrested by police. plus, a scary thought for millions of americans. a new report out this morning suggests that half of all baby boomers in this country will run out of money while they are living out their retirement years. and the news is not much better for the younger gen x-ers and what you can do to secure your future ahead. new hope riding on that new and tighter cap that's now in place on that busted oil pipe in the gulf. nbc's chief environmental om venice, louisiana.s morning she has the latest. anne, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this could be a pivotal day in the history of this oil spill. for the first time in 85 days, oil could temporarily stop flowing into the gulf. as bp conducts a test to determine the condition of the

well and how much more work has to be done in order to shut it down for good. robotic arms attach the second part of the sealing cap and ready it for testing that should begin today. slowly the valves on the new cap will be closed. as that happens, engineers will monitor the pressure at which the oil flows to determine the condition of the well. >> if we see high pressure, it's actually means that the flow in the oil is fully contained in the exist iing well. if we see low pressures, then that would indicate that potentially oil is escaping out of the casing at some point. >> reporter: and that means more problems. bp says the tests should take 6 to 48 hours. >> sir -- sir, we're going to ask you to sit down, please. >> reporter: in new orleans the emotions of 84 days of disaster erupted at the first public hearing of the oil spill presidential commission. >> we feel the government is looking out for their own interests, not for the people, not for the planet.

>> reporter: the man in charge of the $20 billion claim fund promises to make the process simpler. but ken feinberg says filers will still have to provide documentation for what they say they've lost. >> i cannot simply cut checks without backup to demonstrate they're entitled to get paid that amount. >> reporter: along the gulf coast, nerves are raw where the oil is and where it isn't. even communities hundreds of miles from tar balls and patties with beaches untouched by oil are feeling the economic pain as tourists shun the region. panama city first lady michelle obama urged americans looking for a way to help to vacation in those areas. >> truly one of the best ways fellow americans can help is to come on down here and spend some money. >> reporter: it's an area that needs economic support, but most of all, it needs that oil to

stop flowing. matt? >> anne thompson in louisiana for us this morning. anne, thank you very much. it's now four minutes after the hour. here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. mao to washington where the balance of power will be up for grabs in the midterm elections. the republicans have a real shot at winning back control of congress? political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd is at the white house. good morning, chuck. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. republicans really do have a good shot at this which is why the white house and democrats are pushing hard to get a handful of items done in the next few weeks including financial reform, trying to get elena kagan onto the supreme court and extending unemployment bep fits because, right now, the campaign for control of congress is dominating the washington landscape. >> the election count certificate what the election counter is. >> reporter: the white house is expecting a very tough summer of political warfare after admitting publicly for the first time that democratic control in the house hangs in the balance. >> i think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause republicans to gain control. >> reporter: to do that republicans will need to win 39

house seats, the senate is a taller order. they need ten seats. analysts say both houses could change control. >> democrats could lose the house if the election were held today with exactly the circumstances that exist today. things would have to get so somewhat worse for them to lose the majority of the senate. >> reporter: part of the challenge for democrats, firing up their own sometimes disspirited base. the smat majority leader in his own tough re-election fight in nevada wants the president to show more passion. >> he's a person who doesn't like confrontation. he's a peacemaker. and sometimes i think you have to be a little more forceful and sometimes i don't think he is. >> reporter: others on the left say the president's problems with his own base go far beyond that. >> i think obama and his team made a mistake when it came to the white house in demobilizing a base that was ready to work for bolder reforms in favor of an inside the beltway strategy. >> reporter: meanwhile, republicans like sarah palin are seeing the rise in the party's

chances this november as a chance to rebrand themselves for a presidential bid in 2012. here is a highly produced palin ad to help women running this year but seems to be more about the former alaska governor. >> you don't want to mess with the mama grizzlies. >> reporter: what's interesting about that palin video, there wasn't a single mention of a woman candidate running in 2010. it was all pictures of sarah palin which tells you that this was as much about 2012 presidential politics and very quickly, matt, yesterday in iowa, newt gingrich said he is more serious about running for president than he ever has been before. and because he said it in iowa, we'll take him a little more seriously this time, matt. >> chuck todd, thank you very much. laura ingraham is a conservative radio talk show host and contributor to fox news. she also has a new book out today called "the obama diaries." congratulations on that. >> you're making an appearance. thumbs up for you.

even though you didn't wear the lady gaga glasses last week, very disappointed. >> only because i wasn't here. let me ask you about midterm elections. you heard in chuck's piece a lot of people are talking about the possibility republicans could regain control of the house and the senate, likelihood of it happening is what? >> i should say this is actually breaking news today. barack obama in his diaries actually predicts gaining seats in both the house and the senate, the bravado is quite something. >> you write them as fictional entries, the diary. >> what do you mean if i cficti? fiction? >> if republicans do gain control of the house and make substantial gains in the senate, will it be a general dissatisfaction voters are showing with democrats in congress or the administration or would you point to a specific tipping point? >> well, who is in charge? we were promised home and change. we were promised turning the page. a transparent white house. these are regular people but they have a new vision for america. a vision is unfolding and it's not working out so well. that's not political. that's not ideological.

that's factual. i think people are seeing that jobs are not the focus. we're doing a lot of fun partying at the white house, which is also cataloged in the obama diaries. a lot of partying. a beautiful family, wonderful image. but the image for the country is not a comedy, matt. >> if you look at the front page of "the washington post" there's a poll and it kind of tells two stories. one, six in ten americans do not have faith in president obama. almost seven in ten americans don't have faith in democrats in congress. but -- >> what's the but? >> it says slightly more than seven in ten americans don't have faith in republicans in congress. what's the message here? >> there's a lot of cynicism out there. i think that's a little to say it's a disaster and no one trusts anyone. i don't think that's true. what people are seeing, the nation is in debt. we have a lack of focus on things like the gulf coast. i know the first lady dropped by the gulf coast. that was a beautiful image. she went to an ice cream shot.

i thought dessert was not a right. she had a chocolate hurricane yesterday. that was a nice image. we're losing part of the country, matt. we're losing the gulf coast day by day by day. i hope the cap works. we'll see if it does. it's been a failure in leadership. that's why the polls are where they are. >> if i put you in charge -- >> oh, gosh. >> -- the campaigns of all the republicans running in the midterm elections, what's your bumper sticker? is it we're not democrats or is it something more? >> it might be focus on american families, american jobs, period. america. we don't need someone apologizing for america. we don't need someone saying, well, american exceptionalism but greek exceptionalism. we need to reignite a love affair with america. that's what i write about in "the obama diary." >> sarah palin, is she right now what rudy giuliani was four years ago, that all other

republicans will have to go around to get the nomination in 2012? >> i think sarah palin is extremely smart. i think the fact that chuck todd led with one of his reports today about sarah palin shows me that she is incredibly smart mover and shaker in politics. will she be the nominee? she doesn't seem like she's going down that road to me. i could be wrong. i think she's a pours to be reckoned with. >> "the obama diaries," fictional -- >> is it fictional to say -- remember last year, last jup, when brian williams was in the back seat? now that was funny, the burger run with obama. i loved brian williams at that moment. the dog, that was comedy. "the obama diaries" that's revealing. >> three or four months before elections, what do you want people to take away from this? is it a fun romp? >> the book is revealing arrogance, incompetence, horror, and, matt, barack obama and joe biden, you didn't know this, they're two of the funniest

people on the face of the planet. you ask michelle obama's mother, this woman is one of the best -- the funniest, common sense. she wants the daughters to eat junk food when they want to eat it, okay? >> laura, it's nice to see you. it's 11 minutes after the hour. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's stories. ann is standing by at the news desk. >> all right, thanks a lot, matt. good morning, everybody. in the news this morning investigators in uganda say they have found unexploded suicide vests in the city which suggests more attacks were planned there. people were gathering to watch the final game of the world cup on sunday, 76 people have died. andrea mitchell is standing by following the story. she has more now. andrea, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. as that death toll rises overnight, the discovery of the suicide pack and responsibility by a somali group linked to al qaeda does create a wider threat of attacks against other u.s. allies in the region. it took only seconds for a night

of soccer and celebration to turn into one of blood and horror. >> there was had explosion and the next thing i knew i was on the ground with a whole bunch of rubble. >> reporter: attacks as soccer fans gathered in a sports bar and a rugby club in the final seconds of the world cup. now claiming responsibility for its first attack outside soma a somalia's borders al shabaab, a religion linked to caal qaeda tt has terrorized somalia and now threatens to target other african countries. all u.s. allies. if they do not pull their american-backed peacekeepers out of somalia. a spokesman warned we will target them everywhere if uganda does not withdraw from our land. the bombs killed one american, nate hezz, dedicated to save children from becoming child soldiers. >> totally selfless in everything he did. he was a solid example for all of us. >> reporter: he was 25 years old, attended the university of

delaware. ugandans called him the strong one. >> it is my life. it's all i do. >> reporter: friends back home say he dreamed of having his own children. >> he wanted a family so bad. just wanted to fall in love. >> reporter: and in a terrible twist of fate his younger brother, kyle, was flying to be with his family in the crisis. the plane crashed. the pilot was killed. fortunately kyle henn survived. ann? >> andrea mitchell this morning, thank you. in haiti on monday a summer storm ripped through a camp where people were left homeless six months ago, sending tents down on quake survivors. fidel castro made a rare appearance on cuban television. the 83-year-old says tensions between the u.s. and both north korea and iran could ultimately trigger a global nuclear war. hearings begin to decide if the diabetes drug avandia should

stay on the market. studies have been raising questions about potential ties to heart attacks. and the nba commissioner has fined cleveland cavaliers owner dan gilbert $100,000 for, quote, inappropriate comments about lebron james. last week gilbert called james' decision to leave the cavaliers and move to miami narcissistic and cowardly and also shameful and selfish. it is now 7:15. i'm sure that fine is going to

>> things should be pretty quiet for the rest of the morning. cloudy through the middle of the afternoon. late in the day, there is a chance for scattered thunderstorms. temperatures and the mid-to and that's your latest weather. meredith? is thank you. there are new developments tied to the disappearance of kyron horman. the 7-year-old's father is accusing his wife, the last person known to have seen kyron before he vanished, of having an

affair. miguel almaguera is in portland. good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning. the new revelations come from court documents filed by kyron horman's father. in them he alemmings that his estranged wife began sending elicit sexual text messages to a man who lives in their neighborhood. his name is michael cooke. >> kaine and terri live right up the street from me. >> reporter: michael cooke went to high school in the seattle area with kaine horman, kyron's father, and the two men ended up living in the same neighborhood where kyron went missing in portland. two weeks ago television crews interviewed cooke when he organized a neighborhood vigil for kyron. >> i would hope that if people had personal energy to invest, they would put it towards helping to find this missing boy. as opposed to speculating whether the family did or didn't have something to do with it. >> reporter: but according to new court documents, five days after that vigil, cooke and terri horman, kyron's stepmom, began a sexual relationship

which included sexting one another, sending, quote, hundreds of text messages as well as several photographs of terri in various stages of undress and graphic sexual activity. >> if terri horman is your girl next door, you live in a pretty creepy neighborhood. >> reporter: terri horman is the last known person to see kyron alive, dropping him off at a school science fair. in a restraining order filed two weeks ago, kaine says terri tried to hire a landscape contractor to murder him. in the new court document, kaine claims investigators say it terri's sexual overtures to mr. cook resemble those made to the man she previously attempted to hire to murder kaine. >> i've worked a lot of cases. i've arrested a lot of people in my career and, truly, this case is one of the strangest cases i've ever seen. >> reporter: two weeks ago kaine took their 20-month-old daughter to an undisclosed location and filed for divorce. in the new court filing kaine says investigators told him cook

looked up his new address and even did a google map search on his cell phone. the final straw for kaine horman came last week when a clerk in a local gym said terri was looking to abduct her daughter kiara, but the gym daycare center while kaine was working out. >> the twists and turns in this, i mean, you can't make this up if you wanted to. >> reporter: amid all of these allegations, kaine horman is worried not only about his son's fate but also his daughter's future. >> i do fear for their safety as long as it terri is around. >> reporter: terri horman's attorney says she won't fight the restraining order keeping her away from her daughter, and we should note that despite all of these allegations terri horman has never even been named a person of interest in this case. meredith? >> miguel almaguera, thank you very much. it is 7:19 and once again here's matt. meredith, thank you. the 19-year-old known as the barefoot bandit is expected to make his first court appearance

today in the bahamas. the new video surfaces that shows what he was doing with his final hours of freedom before being captured. nbc's peter alexander is in nassau with the latest on this. peter, good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. police say colton harris-moore is eloquent and he's intelligent, but he could not outwit authorities here. we traveled by plane, van, and boat to the exclusive harbor island where police say the barefoot bandit tried to make one final escape. and this morning we have exclusive new video of his efforts to get away. this is colton harris-moore's final night on the run, police say. caught by surveillance video cameras in the bahamas just hours before his arrest. the tape shows the 19 ye-year-o fugitive allegedly casing out boats to steal late saturday night, armed, and true to his nickname, barefoot. harris-moore is seen running past william and his wife. three hours later the teenager returned stealing their 32-foot

fishing boat. >> they ran right by us but i department know who it was. it was a young, tall kid with a blue backpack. >> reporter: harris moore's international odyssey ended. >> told the police to stop him at any cost. the cost to the boat is about $300,000. >> reporter: the end came when harris-moore was allegedly spotted floating into the darkness on sport's boat. police piled into a private boat owned by juror dap sackett and took off searching for harris-moore, finally pulling up 50 feet behind the teen who had eluded authorities for two years. vanishing from a halfway house in washington state. >> yelling i'm not going back to jail, i'm going to kill myself, holding a weapon to his head as he was say iing this. it was like he had no fear at that point. >> reporter: hackett says he fired a warning shot into the air. authorities fired more than a dozen times shutting down the engine on the barefoot bandit's

boat. >> once the bullets started, he was a completely different person and dropped to the bottom of the boat, was scared. when we tuned him on the boat he was in a fetal position. >> reporter: the boat's captain took us back to the exact spot they say harris-moore emptied his knapsack throwing his personal belongings into the harbor's shallow waters. >> laptop, gun, backpack and a couple of waterproof cases. >> reporter: and one certificate, what was it? >> boy scout of america. >> reporter: one day after he was arrested, his hand and feet in shackles, harris-moore was interviewed for hours. he'll face trial in the bahamas for illegal weapons possession and other charges before he's extradited to the u.s. >> he has committed offenses, cripple maloffenses, in the commonwealth of the bahamas. our laws are very clear and so certainly we will be giving promise to those issues. >> reporter: the first conviction came when he was just

12, is accused of more than 100 crimes in eight states. a catch me if you can type spree where harris-moore allegedly snatched food, cars, and at least five planes. he says he taught himself to fly. including this one that police say harris-moore stole in indiana july 4th, crash landing it 1,000 miles away here in the bahamas. the young outlaw for the pacific northwest was finally caught in this tropical paradise. >> everybody knew he was on the island. everybody was looking out for him and it was almost as if he was bound to be caught right here in harbor island. >> reporter: the bandit who became infamous for his brazen antics and bare feet also left behind one unlikely piece of evidence on the boat -- shoes. and that barefoot bandit who has access to phone calls has not spoken to his own mom, matt, who released a statement saying i miss him terribly. >> peter alexander in the bahamas for us this morning. peter, thanks very much. just ahead, things go from

bad to worse for mel gibson. a new audio tape surfaces in which he allegedly admits to hitting his ex-girl prend. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. time for a check on the morning commute. we have wet roads out there. any problems? >> i disabled vehicle at fort mchenry is unclear, but we have heavy delays in the area. left over from the earlier disabled at the right to declare it is clear and everything is open, but it will take awhile

for everything to filter out. the delays on southbound 95 is stretched back to white marsh and continue down towards the 895 split. 144 and bill bonner road, all lanes are closed. that is due to the downed tree. let's give you a live look at some trouble spots. fort mchenry, heavy delays leading up to the toll plaza. take it under 95 if you can to avoid it. right now that this problem- free. old court, this is wide at 7 i- 95 on the outer loop. two left lanes squeezing by. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> for the most part things are quiet. we still have a few light rain showers on the eastern shore counties. tornado warnings in delaware moving offshore.

it is around baltimore and will stay that way for a couple of hours. late this afternoon there will be a chance for showers and thunderstorms. high temperatures in mid-to- upper-80's. good chance for rain tonight and tomorrow morning. then it will clear up and will be hot and dry thursday and friday. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. back at 7:55.

7:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 13th day of july, 2010. it's cloudy here in midtown, manhattan. actually the sun peeking through a little bit. showers today. go there. >> have you no class? >> it would be fun really. i'm matt lauer alongside meredith vieira. just ahead, disturbing and new profanity laced recording apparently from actor mel gibson has surfaced and this time during the eight-minute rant he makes threats against the life

of his ex-girlfriend. we'll hear some of that tape and talk more about what may have caused all this in just a couple of minutes. also ahead, the pritenning abduction case with fortunately a happy ending. 4-year-old alisa maier was snatched from her own yard last monday and later found alive some 70 miles from her home. this morning she is here along with her family. we'll talk to them exclusively coming up. she is so cute. >> she is a cute little girl. an eye opening reality check. new research out today shows that a large number of americans will end up running out of money during their retirement years. we don't want that to happen to you. jean chatzky will be here to give some advice on what you can do to possibly avoid that scenario. we're going to begin with yet another tape reportedly of oscar winner mel gibson verbally lark out at the mother of his youngest child. kristen welker has more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, meredith. this is the second such tape that has been released and this

one is much more violent in tone than the first. if it is youauthentic, it could a real blow to the actor both professionally and legally. >> i'll put you in a [ bleep ] rose garden, you [ bleep ]. you understand that? because i'm capable of it. do you understand that? get a [ bleep ] restraining order. >> reporter: it's another obscenity laced rant by a person who sounds a lot like award winning actor and director mel gibson. the celebrity gossip site radar online.com released the audio recording monday saying it is gibson lashing out at the mother of his youngest child, ex-girlfriend, oksana grigorieva. the two are in a bitter custody battle. >> i will make your [ bleep ] life miserable, all right? >> you need medication. >> you immediate a [ bleep ] bat to the side of the head, all right? how about that? you need a [ bleep ] doctor. you need a [ bleep ] brain transplant. >> reporter: the man reported to be gibson is so filled with uncontrollable rage during the eight-minute recording, he

pauses only to catch his breath. >> you [ bleep ] selfish [ bleep ]. don't you dare hang up on me. >> i can't listen to this anymore. >> reporter: fry. >> reporter: friday radaron line.com released a similar recording of mel gibson berating oksana grigorieva. this tape is far more violent in nature and the actor even seems to admit to hitting his ex. >> what kind of man is that? hitting a woman when she's holding a child in her hands? breaking her teeth twice, in the face. what kind of man is that? >> oh, you're all angry now. >> you know what? -- >> [ bleep ] you deserved it. >> you're going to answer one day, boy. >> reporter: oksana grigorieva has told police gibson punched her in the face knocking out two of her teeth, claims the actor has denied. gibson is also staying mum about the tapes. >> if the tape is what it appears to be, it's devastating evidence against mel gibson on

multiple fronts. first of all with respect to domestic violence it's essentially a confession, child custody, you can forget about that, even the possibility of them charging him with threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. >> reporter: and as far as his public image goes, industry experts say the situation couldn't get much worse. >> short of murder or incest, mel gibson's in about as much trouble as a celebrity can get into. it's almost two decades long history of hatred, of homophobia, racism, miss mysogony. >> reporter: police have requested copies of the recording from radar on line and from oksana. at this point no charges have been filed. meredi meredith? >> thank you very much. dr. nancy snyderman is our chief medical editor and a former district attorney and county judge and the host of "the

judge." good morning to you. that tape is so disturbing to list listen to. immediate reaction, both of you, when you first heard it? >> i had a reaction to both sides. or behavior on either side buthe she was passing/aggressive and baiting him, knowing what buttons to push. he had this it deep, almost -- >> setting him up in a way? >> well, she knew how to engage the rage. she was very quiet, soft voice, pushed him, pushed him in a very passive/aggressive way. >> he? >> he has this rage that comes from the deepest center of the brain. when you are very angry and you think i'm so mad i want to throw this glass, you think in your had, oh, what are the consequences? the glass will break, i'll cut myself, i'll hurt someone else. this is an anger without a check and balance. it is what allows us to slay the animal, to outrun the animal in the serengeti but has no checks and balances. that's where you can hurt someone. >> you're shaking your head.

>> i was stunned, i was shocked because everybody wants to love mel gibson. he's played such great affable characte characters. at the end of the day, i listen to this tape and i say this man is an angry, hateful batterer. he beats women. he says you deserve it. he says even if i hit you, well, when you were holding the child, you deserved it. this is a guy who at the end of the day will be a criminal. >> is he a sick man, though? do you get any sense this man -- he has had a history of alcohol abuse. >> this is mental illness. you can describe it any way whether it's uncontrolled rage or alcoholism induced. any psychiatrist would sit down and look at inflammation, infection, tumor, drug use and with the known alcoholism, we don't know this was an alcohol fueled rant the other day or whether this is alcohol damage to the brain or whether it's compounding -- >> it doesn't sound like an alcohol fueled rant. when he did the anti-semitic thing with the cop, he slurred his words. these words were clear, they were definite, and they were --

>> it doesn't mean alcohol didn't damage his brain previously. >> how might this play into the domestic violence investigation? >> as far as i'm concerned you have a willing witness, a media outcry to friends, evidence of injury, and evidence of admission coming out of the mouth of the accused. what better evidence is there than the defendant corroborating what he's done and saying, and you deserved it. any jury will be outraged. >> but are the tapes admissible? in some states if you are being recorded and you don't know it, those tapes are not allowed. >> you hit the nail on the head. california is a two-party state. there are exceptions. was he in a place where there was an expectation of privacy? remember, this isn't just a tape recording, it's a phone call because he says to her, stay on the phone. that tells me that you get into ere's got to be some .aping of expectation of privacy on his part. >> some people projected there's a sense of entitlement or he feels he's been the victim, the

world is sort of against him. that paranoia that's me against everyone else can be a root of this and it could also be a by-product of a brain that's gone haywire. >> he's also said apparently she was trying to extort money from him, that these tapes were made with a threat you don't give me money, i'm going to release them. >> does that absolve him of the liability? even in the tiger woods case, we know the confidentiality comes when the lawyers negotiate. were his lawyers negotiating on the co-habitation agreement? absolutely. they had one. was that thrown in as, look, we'll throw this in if you give us money? if it's the lawyers, it's not extortion. >> you do not have the right to strike someone, to threaten them, to put them in harm's way. >> as a doctor and lawyer what do you think his next step should be. >> immediate psychiatric help. immediate psychiatric help. >> find the best criminal defense attorney you can find and get your defense together because it is solid. the d.a. doesn't have an excuse to not go forward with this

evidence. >> he's so unglued. he needs help immediately and i mean in the next couple of hours. >> dr. nancy and janeen, thank you so much. a check of the weather from al. all right. thanks so much, meredith. wow. everybody is all happy. where are you guys from? >> new castle. new castle, pennsylvania. >> pennsylvania. all right. pennsylvania. let's check your weather, shall we? wow, it is hot here but it is hot out west, too. denver to grand isle, to wichita, temperatures from three to ten degrees above normal. las vegas, 107. wichita 96. the rest of the country that heat spreads to the southeast. the gulf coast on into the mid-atlantic s >> after our round of the thunderstorms last night, we should get a little bit as we had to the middle portion of the day. another chance for rain and thunderstorms late this

afternoon and evening. and we have a lot of california girls here. it says so on their faces. my gosh. you ought to have a doctor look at that because it's a little bit of a rash there. all right. let's go back to meredith. >> al, thank you very much. and still ahead, a softball clash of the titans. brian williams and nightly news against the "today" show. we're going to tell you how things turned out. but up next, the new report that finds half of all baby boomers will run out of money in retirement. how to keep that from happening to you. ♪ ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all

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this is the beauty of roc brilliance day rejuvenating moisturizer with e-pulse™. in just 7 days, women saw wrinkles fade -- redefining younger-looking skin. roc®. this face says it all. we're back at 7:44 this morning on "today's money" saving for the future. some alarming new research came out this morning that suggests a large portion of americans will run out of money during their retirement years. "today" financial editor jean chatzky is here with the details on this. jean, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> the headline here in my opinion is about half of baby boomers who think they're in good shape for retirement right now are not going to make it

through retirement without running out of money. >> and not just half of baby boomers. when you look at the generation x-ers right behind them, they are not doing much better. >> let's take a look at the category. this is after ten years of retirement, 41% of those in the lowest annual income category, here we're talking people who make between nothing and $11,000 are going to run out of money. that's not surprising. that's a sad and troubling fact. but we understand that. yet you look at the bottom of that graphic and 5% of the people in the higher and the highest income bracket, $72,500 and above are also going to run out of money. >> that's right. and when you look at the top half of earners not just ten years out but 20 years out, the picture gets significantly worse for them and we are not talking vacations to bora bo ra. >> let's go from ten years out to 20 years out and take a look at this numbers. first of all, more bad news for the people in that low income bracket. 57% of them are not going to

have enough money. >> that's a huge and, as you said, troubling fact. look at the lower half of that chart. 40% of people who are earning more money in this country than anyone else, the top half of the earners are also going to run out. >> do we need to define what we're talking about by running out of money? >> yes. >> this is not running down to zero in a bank, on a month-to-month basis not being able to meet your basic needs. >> we're not talking about vacations. we're talking about rent, food on the table, basic health care. >> we have a lot of people watching who are saying, okay, if i'm five years away from retirement or ten years away from retirement and i'm going to find myself in one of those categories, can i catch up or is it too late? >> no, i wouldn't be here if it was too late. you have to start -- >> we like you. you can come anyway. >> thank you very much. you have to start by saving more today. you put the money into tax advantage plans if you can. you look at what your costs are going to be in retirement and you think about maybe i could work a couple of additional

years, let the money grow longer. >> there's another what i think you believe is a head lynn to come out of this research and that is people who are working for companies that automatically enroll them in some kind of retirement plan, and they're controversial, but they tend to do much better than people who are left to their own devices. >> in it 2006 we had a change in pension laws that allowed companies to auto enroll employees more easily in their plans. what we're now seeing is that in those companies that auto enroll, 80% to 90% of people are in 401(k)s. dumb the number that don't auto enroll and when you're in a 401(k), your risk of running out of money drops to 20%. that's huge. >> and real quickly, if you're not in a 401(k), get an i.r.a., open one up. >> you have to cobble together your own plan and save as much as you can. the amount in an i.r.a. smot enough. >> and take the time to calculate what you'll need in retirement. >> go to choose tosave.org and

work the calculator. take you half an hour. >> disturbing. this is tough information. still ahead, new details on 4-year-old alisa maier's abduction ordeal. her family speaks out in an exclusive live interview. [ engines revving ] [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] before you take it on your road trip... we take it on ours. [ children laughing ] now during the summer event, get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz like the 2010 c-class, an iihs top safety pick, for 1.9 percent apr or lease one for $349 a month. hey! [ tires screech ] [ female announcer ] when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with free high-speed internet and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up. two times with comfort suites or any choice hotel, you can feed a family of four.

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nbc's brian williams may not want to take our calls this morning because last night the "today" show cruised to victory over the folks at "nightly news" in a friendly game of softball. >> it was a journalism spanking, not even close, 14-3. i heard brian had had a little message for us before the game. >> really? >> hey, good morning, matt, al, meredith and ann. it's a monday night and a beautiful one on the west side of manhattan. t "nightly news" versus all y off air staff members of the "today" show. we sure were expecting the so-called front four, to use an industry term. we're all here to familiarize

yourselves, that's your bench. that's the "today" show over there. all the staff members that thought enough to show up tonight and play to be part of a team sport because a lot was on the line between the two shows. sure, there's a little creative friction between the two of us. our audience is bigger so you go on more hours to try to build up a cumulative total. any way, we're here on the west side of manhattan enjoying each other's company, the camaraderie and collegiality that exists between two sports teams. at the end of the night we're all going to end up in a tavern on the west side. we'll toast you. we'll talk about you. we'll have a great time, as we always do, when the two teams, "today" show and "nightly news" square off. >> does he ever shut up. >> i'm brian williams, why use one word when 18 will do? >> talking, talking, talking. >> lost 14-3.

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> finally some improvement to report. problems at fort mchenry and the outlook at 795 but those are clearing out. in accident just coming in to us. let's check on the delays. the good news that this disabled ship was clear from the left. -- disabled vehicle is clear in from the left. bailout volume here.

stick to the east side and take the keybridge instead. this accident is clearing out. no delays lingering in that area. in mount airy, a downed tree blocking all lanes at 144 at mill bottom road. these delays fell the route towards fort mchenry. -- filter out towards fort mchenry. if you are going to take out a link between the 80's and 795, eight minutes through the stretch. take the east side to the keybridge. here's a look at the west side. things looking a lot better than last check. tony has a check on the forecast. >> things are quiet right now. there is still a few sprinkles on the eastern shore counties. most of us will have a dry tuesday morning commute. it should stay dry to the middle of the day. a mixture of clouds and sunshine. a chance for a thunderstorm is

late this afternoon. it will be humid, with high temperatures in the mid-to- upper-80's. >> we are back in 25 minutes with another live update.

8:00 now on this tuesday morning, july 13th, 2010. not the best of weather days here in new york. scattered showers expected lout the day but things are -- it's starting to rain as i speak. the crowd seems happy despite all that. i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer and al roker. new details in the abduction of alisa maier who was found alive after she was snatched from her own front yard by a complete stranger last monday. she is back with her family. we'll talk with them in an exclusive live interview just

ahead. a happy ending. also ahead, how much do you eat? you see these things, the daily recommended number of calories that each of us should consume, but your metabolism is different than mine. our levels of activity might be different. how do you determine how much you should be consuming? we'll talk about that with david and madeline. >> how many of you are big fans of roy rogers? yes. the king of the cowboys. well, you know, of course, his beloved horse trigger who appeared in his tv show and all 188 of his movies. well, now trigger and other pieces are roy rogers' personal collection are going on the auction block. we're going to give you a private tour, a sneak peek. >> that's really trigger. >> that is trigger-trigger. >> that's right. >> are you kidding? >> yes. that's right. and roy rogers jr., dusty, will be giving us a tour. >> what do they think that horse is going to go for? >> i don't know.

>> a lot. >> and there's a car in there, a bonneville. pretty cool. we'll take a look at that, too. >> do you want a horse for your living room? >> no, not a stuffed horse, but not a live horse either. let's go inside. ann is standing by at the news desk with a check of all the headlines. >> all right. okay, guys. thanks so much. good morning once again, everybody. today bp is testing a new containment cap placed last night over the ruptured oil well in the gulf. the tighter fitting cap is supposed to stop more of the oil from flowing. bp says the well should be ready in august. police in uganda say they arrested four. bombings on sunday night could have been even worse. at least 76 people including one american were killed when the bombs exploded where people had gathered to watch the world cup final. a somalian group is claiming responsibility. president omar al bashir is

being charged with genocide, the deaths of hundreds of people in darfur. bashir had already been charged of war crimes and crimes against humanity. prosecutors in the u.s. say they are disappointed but not deterred by switzerland's refusal monday to extradite fugitive filmmaker roman polanski. we get details from stephanie gosk. >> reporter: an award winning director and hollywood heavyweight, roman polanski has been a wanted man for more than 30 years. officials in los angeles and washington say they are shocked by switzerland's decision to set him free. >> a 13-year-old girl was drugged and raped by an adult. >> reporter: polanski fled the u.s. in 1978 to avoid sentencing for unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. five other charges were dropped in a plea deal including rape by use of drugs. >> i was flabbergasted actually that the swiss officials made the decision that they were not going to participate in

extradition. >> reporter: family and other supporters maintain the director's arrest last september in zurich was a miscarriage of justice. bernard levy, a close friend, spoke with polanski. >> of course for mr. polanski and his family because of these ten months of his life stolen. >> the director is not entirely free. a district attorney says his office will try to extradite polanski again. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. overseas markets are mostly higher this morning. we have cnbc's trish regan at the new york stock exchange with more on this. trish, there's a lot of attention this week on earnings. >> reporter: there absolutely is. good morning, ann. earnings is now into full swing. we've got it kicked off after the closing bell with alcoa, the aluminum company, and csx, the railroad company. both had fairly good news for the economy. alcoa, the aluminum company, is actually seeing more demand for its products. so that's a bullish sign. csx is actually hauling 63% more

freight than it did a year ago, so another good sign. let's hope it keeps up. >> trish regan this morning, thanks. and consumer reports says it will not recommend apple's new iphone 4 because of reception problems caused by the phone's antenna design. users have been complaining calls can drop if the phone is held a certain way. it is now 8:05. let's go back outside to matt and meredith. hey, guys, how is it out there? >> it's spitting. it's spitting. >> it looks like it could get worse before it gets better. >> mr. roker has the weather. al? we're here with some girls, a girl scout troupe 20 from sherman, new york. where is sherman? >> down in the corner of the state. >> you have a little man. that's right next to mr. peabody, pennsylvania. for those of you who are rocky and bull winkle fans. let's check your weather. nice to see you ladies and we'll show you our pick city of the day, rochester. partly to mostly sunny and warm.

temperatures in the mid-80s. we're looking at the jet stream right now. staying mostly to the north so that allows the heat to really build up. as we head on towards thursday, a little bit of a dip over the great lakes. >> we are going to see another round of thunderstorms during the day to day it but probably not until late this afternoon into the evening. we should get a break and the and, my golly, this is a good looking family. where are you from? >> long island. >> you just happen to be the

relatives of this man, jim! yes. jim corrigan! matt? >> it's so strange that they're in focus because we're not used to seeing anything jim does in focus. >> absolutely. that's why we need to shoot jim corrigan. >> no, no, no. up next, a serious story. the family of 4-year-old alisa maier talks about her terrifying ordeal and abduction. what a happy reunion. a personat in ensuring that we get this job done right. i'm keith seilhan. i'm in charge of bp's clean up on the gulf coast. bp's taken full responsibility for the clean up, and that includes keeping you informed. over 25,000 people are included in the clean up operation. our crews are cleaning the gulf beaches 24/7. we're going to be here as long as it takes to make this right. discover customers are getting 5% cashback bonus at the pump...

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we are back at 8:11 with new developments in the kidnapping case of alisa maier, the 4-year-old abducted from her own front yard last week in missouri. we're going to talk exclusively to alisa and her family in just a moment. first nbc's jeff rossen has the latest. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. adorable little girl. we thought alisa was lucky before, dropped off unharmed, now we realize just how lucky she was. police now say her kidnapper, a convicted sex offender, by the way, was also involved in a murder just two days before snatching alisa. it's just another bizarre twist in this terrifying tale. it is a sight to behold, this past weekend 4-year-old alisa

maier played with her family, so simple, yet so meaningful, alisa seemingly unaware how close she came to the end. >> an amber alert out of will you will you, missouri. >> reporter: monday, july 5th, a stranger kidnaps alisa right off her front lawn as she's playing with her 6-year-old brother. the man takes off with alisa in a black car that's basically all police know. by tuesday, the dragnet is on from the air to the ground. >> we're just stopping everybody to see if they have any information about the little girl that's missing. >> reporter: fbi agents swarmed the scene as police checked a mereby river for her body knowing full well how these abductions can end. ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: alisa's parents wept at a prayer vigil. she has now been missing for 24 hours. >> big brown eyes, and i just --

i can't picture anybody wanting to hurt some sweet little baby like that. >> reporter: then the unexpected -- the mystery man who took her away suddenly dropped her off unhurt at this car wash 70 miles from home. >> all she did was look down at the ground and she would stare at the walls. >> reporter: the kidnapper changed alisa's clothes and cut her hair to look like a boy. she was reunited with her family and examined by doctors. no physical signs of abuse. wednesday morning, as her abductor was still on the loose, how desperate are you to catch this man? >> i want them to catch him because i know that if they don't, he's going to do it again and i don't want anybody to go through what we went through. >> reporter: that night police used surveil and video to identify a suspect, paul s. smith, a convicted sex offender who sodomized a 10-year-old boy in 1995. when police arrived at his missouri farm, smith was spray painting his black car a different color. then he shot and killed himself.

>> i think i can sum it up in two words. it's over. >> reporter: on thursday, three days after this nightmare began, the happy homecoming. sporting her boyish haircut, alisa snapped right back into toddler mode, within minutes running around and riding her bike in the very spot where she was abducted. what was that reunion like? >> it was great. i mean, if we could do back flips, we'd be doing them. >> reporter: now a new scary twist. police say the accused kidnapper may have also murdered a man, a nearby auto shop owner just two days before grabbing alisa. investigators still don't know why. but watching alisa so full of life, so happy. for now her parents have all the answers they need. we don't know for sure what alisa went through in those 24 hours that she was missing, but the fact is she's alive and police say without the public's help putting pressure on the

kidnapper, meredith, who knows how this would have ended. it's nice to have her here on the sofa and she is atoshl. >> she's very adorable. jeff, thank you so much. alisa maier is here with her parents, david maier. david, when you think back to just a week ago, a week ago you didn't know where your daughter was. >> no, we didn't. >> she'd been taken from your home the night before. you had no idea whether she was alive or not. >> no. >> how would you describe what your family has gone through. >> it's been a roller coaster. when they picked her up, we had no idea, no description, just a vague description of who took her in the car. >> so it was blake who ran into the house and told you. >> he ran in the house and said alisa got in a black car. kimberly went to the neighbor's house to see if she was over there and when she come back, she said she wasn't there, i immediately dialed 911. this was just minutes.

and then from then on -- by the time the police got there, there were police going down the street, too, looking for this black car. >> and as the hours ticked by -- >> oh, man, we just didn't know. i can't explain how i felt. >> when did you get the word that alisa was okay? how did you get the word? >> well, we were staying at a friend's house because we didn't want to go back home. >> this was tuesday night? >> tuesday evening. they told us about 10:30, the fbi and chief hughes, the louisiana police department, came and showed me a picture and she was laying in a hospital bed. they came in and as we walked outside wanted to show me something. i was expecting the worst. when he showed me the picture of her in the hospital bed, had had arms like had smiling, i was just -- let's go. >> let's go to the hospital and get her. you drove to st. louis that night. >> they transported us. >> to st. louis. i understand you did a

somersault when you got the word that she was okay, literally. >> i had tried to do a back flip, but i'm getting -- i too old. >> the worst case scenario was possible because you deal with criminals. >> without a doubt. i dealt with a lot of really bad people. >> yeah. beyond imagination what can happen. beyond imagination. >> what was it like, david, when you final ly reunited, you and kim, with your daughter? >> just overjoyed. the first thing she asked, where's blake. >> did you know that, blake, the first thing she wanted to know was where you were? you must be a cool big brother. >> he's a hero. >> he is a hero because he could describe the person to some degree and the car. >> pretty much spot on, too. >> from what i understand, therapist have is talked to

alisa and see no indication of any severe trauma or any abuse when she was with this man. hats she shared anything with you at this point? >> bits and pieces but nothing of significance. >> and you've made a decision not to force thattish snu. >> we're not going to force anything. it will come out in time, in a manner of speaking. i don't know if we'll ever know. i doubt if we ever will. >> is there a message here for paren parents? >> yes, there is. i think, as you can see, this is a very happy ending and you always have hope and for all the people, the parents that have missing children, there is some kind of hope and just keep the word out and let the media do their job and the law enforcement be allowed to do their job. and i would really like to thank all the law officials that was involved in this whole case

nationwide, local, and all the media, especially the media because they did a good job of getting the word out. >> we're glad she's home safe and sound. >> and the community. the community really pulled together, a lot of support. without them, we probably would have never made it through this. >> alisa, we're glad you're home. she just cares about her bear, she's a 4-year-old girl. ! ] [ ding! ] [ chirp! ] [ stomp! stomp! stomp! stomp! ] [ beep! crank! ] [ pop! pop! pop! ] [ ding! ] [ ding! ] [ clank! fizz! clink! ] it's... time! [ click! click! click! click! ] shh! [ girl ] it's on! [ female announcer ] walmart and p&g present the jensen project, july 16th, 8/7 central on nbc. family movie night is back. make yours complete with all of this for just $9. save money. live better. walmart. [ girls ] good. ♪ ♪ thank you!

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choosey moms, choose jif. ♪ just eat it this morning on "eat smart today" are you eating too much? 60% of people questioned have no idea how many calories they should be eating every day. "today's" diet and nutrition editor and the author of "the real you diet" and david is editor in chief of "men's health" and the author of "eat this not that" and now "drink this not that" series. i hear all the time, 2,500, 2,800 calories a day, that's what i should be consuming but that's not a one size fits all thing. we may not have the same metabolism or the same level of activity. >> right. a lot of how many calories you need, and for men it will range 2,000 to 3,000, women 1,500 to 2,500, it depend upon your age and level of activity and most of us are a lot less active than

we think. >> even we think we're eating the right things, david, chances are we're eating too much of the right things. >> we're eating way too much food because it ises everywhere. it's in subway stations. it's in office supply stores. you go to staples, you leave with staples and a snickers. it's everywhere. we're just eating too much. >> let's talk about typical meals here. give me a couple of examples. these are two different breakfasts, one much better than the other. >> someone may grab a whole grain bagel and reduced fat cream cheese and small latte. that's 600 calories. but you can have all of this in an egg white omelet, lean canadian bacon for half the calories. you think you're doing yourself a favor. >> it's a big difference, 300 calories a day over the course of a year means 30 pounds. >> snacks. i think a lot of people fall down on the snack department. >> we're fueling all day because even you have healthy food, it still has a lot of calories. a cup of grapes, a bunch of

whole grain crackers or a cheese stick, are all going to be about 100 calories each but we pair them together so it's a 300 calorie snack instead of 100 calorie snack and even healthy things like nuts, a small handful, 100 calories. >> this is 100 calories right here? >> that's 100 calories. >> it's a small handful. >> i eat one of these big bags. >> that's 200. and this is 600. you pick this up in an airport, a gas station, anywhere, thinking it's one bag so it's one serving. >> the same thing with these other fun, desert type things. you can have them but keep an eye on the amounts. >> downsize. if you don't want to buy 100 calorie serves then make them yourself and little bits of candy. this is a single serve bag and this is a bigger single serve bag. >> the tips for people, you're probably not as active as you think. >> unless you are pushing lawn mowers or building chimneys, you are probably not getting enough ex exercise in your daily activity. >> also, think before you drink and drink before you eat.

>> yes. if you think you're hungry, have a glass of water because a lot of times the thirst that we are dehydrated and we need to do that and we drink way too many calories today. >> all right, guys. >> live, local, latebreaking. this wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> still busy out there. accident at baltimore, a vehicle into a tree here. lanes closed in that area. southbound 95 approaching the beltway southwest, accident off to the side. bigger problems on southbound 95 from the white marsh area towards fort mchenry. all that due to an earlier disabled vehicle. east side a much better bet.

all lanes are closed with the downed st.. another one is for this out that solomons island road and central avenue in anne arundel county. things are still jammed up heading towards fort mchenry it. keybridge is a much better bet. things are easing up on the west side at old court. no problems towards 95. >> we are still picking up a few showers and thunderstorms. elsewhere, it is a dry at the present time, and most of the will of a dry morning commute from this point going forward. a mixture of clouds and sunshine. it will be a humid day. chance for a few scattered showers and thunderstorms later on. good chance of thunderstorms tonight as well.

it should clear up in the afternoon, will the high of 89. there could be a few more storms over the weekend. >> we will have another update at 8:55. he inherited a $1.7 billion budget deficit...

then an economic crisis. but martin o'malley went to work. cutting $5 billion in waste and government spending, while also making opportunities for middle class families a priority. freezing college tuition four years in a row, record investments in our schools, and tax credits for small businesses to create jobs. while other states are still struggling, martin o'malley is making the tough choices... to move maryland forward.

we're back now 8:30 on a tuesday morning, it's the 13th day of july, 2010. a couple of rain drops falling here in midtown manhattan. but, look, it has not stopped a great crowd from gathering here on our plaza outside our window on the world. we're thankful to them for

stopping by. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with ann and meredith who are apparently running for office of some kind going door-to-door. >> thank you for coming out. we appreciate it. >> it's good to have you here. by the way, you know what's happening next door christie's auction house. a big auction, all stuff pertaining to roy rogers and that man right there, al roker. al, this is really cool stuff. >> it is. right here trigger, dubbed the smartest horse in the movies, appeared in all 188 of roy rogers' movies and the tv show. and his dog bullet also there are two of the center pieces of this magnificent 1,000-item auction that will start tomorrow. we'll have a preview of it and get an interview with dusty rogers, roy rogers jr., is going to give us a tour of this m magnificent collection. we meet a man who can thank

the real estate crisis for his rediscovery, his real passion. our good friend jane pauley is here to share it. hi, jane. >> we love it when jane is here. she's always so great. also coming up, by the way, cooking school is in session for all of us. we're going to learn from one of the best chefs on the planet. we're talk iing about eric who will show us how to make a gourmet salmon dinner. >> good morning, eric. >> cool. before we do that can we say hi to the star of usa network's "white collar" matt boehmer. you play on the show a former con man. meredith was a former con woman not cooperating with nbc. >> wow. i see the parallel. maybe you can be my adviser. >> i'd be very good at it. >> the show has been a combination of lethal weapon and catch me if you can. is that fair? >> that's fair enough. it's a budding show about a con

artist who gets his prison sentence shortened to help solve of white collar crime. there's a procedural element but also a lot of fun kashg it ter development. if you missed the first season, the second season you can jump right in. the writing has gotten even stronger. >> at the end of season one your girl prend, kate, in the show, i imagine that's going to play on your character this season going forward. >> yeah, he's a proactive guy, though, so he's not going to mope around about it. his moral dilemma is whether to do what he thinks is right or what the fbi thinks is right and avenge her death. >> but playing a guy like that, it sounds like a complicated character and in that way it must be such an enticing character to do. >> he operates in sort of a moral gray area. >> another similarity. >> stop it. >> we have to talk after this. i think character flaws shadow your aspects are the most fun to play. i enjoy that.

>> congratulations. the season kicks off tonight on usa. >> 9:00 p.m. >> matt bomer, it's nice to have you. >> good to see you. good luck to you. >> thank you so much. a check of the weather and mr. roker. al? thanks a lot, matt. here at christie's as we get ready to give you a preview of the roy rogers memorabilia, from the collection of roy rogers. over 1,000 items including trigger expected to go between $100,000 and $200,000. trigger could do over 100 tricks including shoot a gun and direct a morning newscast. let's take a look and show you what's going on as far as your president clinton is concerned. forecast is concerned. back through the southeast and and lagses looking at sizzling conditions. more rain along the east coastline. a storm risk working its way through the great lakes

>> after our round of the thunderstorms last night, we should get a little bit as we had to the middle portion of the day. another chance for rain and thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening. we'll have more coming up from christie's and the roy rogers auction later on. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very much. when we come back, making beautiful music after nearly going under in the mortgage mess. jane pauley shares one man's mess. jane pauley shares one man's touching sne

mess. janep.a.: it's a four-bedroom touchingtraditional home on an acre-and-a-half landscaped yard. there's a totally renovated chef's kitchen, with granite countertops and a butler's pantry. it's got a screened-in back porch, plenty of storage and a large backyard. it's the perfect home, in excellent condition, and ready to move in. anytime, anywhere. no one connects you with the home of your dreams like coldwell banker real estate. we never stop moving.

♪ this is your life we are back at 8:37 with "your life calling today." "today" contributor jane pauley has been working with aarp which has produced and sponsored a new series of reports for us. and this morning she is here with one man's story that will be music to your ears. good morning, jane. >> thank you, meredith. robert rudolph is one of the lu lucky few who always knew what he wanted to do and is doing it. but we begin his life calling story in the middle when he's doing what other people wanted him to do. fine dining, a luxury car, big house, and expensive clothes. that was robert rudolph's life. how did you get so good at spending money? >> i don't know that i've ever figured that out. >> but four years ago when the real estate bubble burst, he was suddenly a mortgage broker deep in debt. the irony is that when you got

into business, you got in big trouble. >> this is true. >> in his family, business stood for financial security. >> we had a business. we had a hotel. we had a restaurant. my dad had offered to send me to business school to then take over the family business. well, that wasn't anything that i wanted to do. >> his dream was to be a church musician. he put himself through school, getting a degree in music, then seminary. >> i went on to get my master's in music. >> but, feeling the pull of the family calling, he drifted into business, riding high in the mortgage industry until the crash brought him low. >> on one specific day in august, 2006, yet one more mortgage that was -- should have been the income for the second half of the year fell through. i decided i was going to do church music if i was going to be poor and not have any money.

i was going to do what i always wanted to do. >> so he packed his stuff and qu quit. >> the thing that gave me the freedom is that actually in the middle of this my dad started emed like i didn't have to st justify this anymore. >> and you could be your own man. >> dads can have a heavy influence, even as old as i am. it was still there. >> while taking care of his terminally ill father, he started looking for the job he had always wanted. ♪ hallelujah today robert rudolph is music director at springfield, virginia, messiah methodist church. >> the community of contagious joy as they like to call it. one, two, ready, go. >> under his leadership the music program has doubled in size. 400 people and 14 choirs. there's sort of a marketing aspect to what you do. >> you are absolutely right. >> and this organ --

is soon to be replaced by a custom built organ from europe. robert helped raise the money to buy it. >> well, that is the business side of me. >> meanwhile, his own spending ways have had to change. >> gosh. >> his entire apartment is smaller than the master bedroom in his former 5,000-square-foot house. ♪ it strikes me that you got it right the first time. >> i did get it right the first time. ♪ i am really just content. >> okay. here is the reality check. despite all much of his degrees and his skills, robert didn't have any credentials. he'd never had a full-time church job. and after 100 resumes, he only got six responses.

took a job in a small country ch church at first. his second job search went a whole lot better, nine resumes, six interviews and four offers. and, by the way, i'll be talking more about this later today during my web chat at noon eastern time. to take part head to aarp.org/jane. >> things worked out well for him. he had to build up his resume much like a young person coming out of college. >> there sometimes have to be bridges to the future. he had to give up a year, move away, before he could come back home and be near family to get that credential. young kids coming out of college with their degrees and not finding, you know, the exact job they wanted, the same thing. you've got to find a way to make a bridge, if you will. >> i didn't know until i read the note that your mom was a church organist so this must have been like going home in a way for you, brought back memories. >> i've been -- i've seen church organs many, many times. not to play however.

i noticed robert was wearing shoes. my mother played barefoot. >> she did? >> the only person that knew in church on sunday that mom was barefoot. >> you never learned to play? >> it's hard. no. >> maybe you can do a bridge to that. >> next life. >> jane pauley, thank you so much. up next, how you could own items from the personal collection of legendary cowboy roy rogers including his famous horse trigger.

♪ happy trails to you we are back at 8:45 with a taste of the wild west right here in manhattan. starting tomorrow christie's is auctions off items once owned by the king of the cowboys and the queen of the west, roy rogers and dale evans. al is just down the block at the

auction house with a preview. al? joining me is roy rogers jr., dusty. good to see you. >> god bless you. good to see you, sir. >> over 1,000 items. this is in your family's museum and how come you let it it go? >> we're not really letting it go. we're passing history on to other people. mom and dad kept it for 42 years. dad said when it gets to the point it's causing you kids a problem, just move it out. so that's what we're doing. mom and dad left us a lot of legacies, the museum, and there are things where music was an "x" in their books and we're still able to continue that music in branson but these things have to go out in the public. >> let's take a look at some of this. a shooting gallery. >> we had it made in england and shipped over here. i designed it because i thought i had to have all the elements with gabby and pat, dad's other sidekick for years, and the fellow behind the bars and the one in the window are the bad guys. you have to have the bad guys. >> of course. >> it's a very active gun --

>> little gun play. >> everybody wants to play guns. >> as far as we take a look up here, besides trigger and buttermilk and bullet being the centerpiece of this exhibit and this auction, this bonneville, the guy who did all it -- >> all the outfits for mom and dad, all the rhinestones. >> tell me about this car. this is unbelievable. >> it's a '63 bonneville pontiac and completely done with all leather interior. there's like 20 different guns on here, over 300 silver dollars and every handle or knob or door handle is a gun. >> there are famous names signed the back. >> elvis presley and john wayne and jim davis, governor jim davis, and mom and dad signed it. a lot of great names. >> what's fascinating, your dad drove around in this. >> he used to hunt in it. i used to see him with bobcats on the hood. >> a cowboy is known for his boots. >> absolutely. this was his very first pair.

you have to have your baby shoes bronzed. dad was no different. he had to have his first boots bronzed. >> he worked on all his boots himself. >> his first job was in cincinnati. he knew how to build boots from the ground up. >> that is fascinating. as we head on into here, one of the things that your folks were known for, their costumes. they had some amazing costumes. >> and i think of that had to do with coming to madison square garden because the kids couldn't see them in the middle of the arena so they started putting rhinestones on things and made them pop out in the middle of the arena. >> we would see them out in public. when they were home, what would they wear? >> dad was in a pair of jeans and an old striped shirt and sneakers. that was dad at home. >> tell me about your mom. >> mom, she had her hands full with nine children. they adopted four and had one foster child and then they had the children between the two of them and how they survived nine children and she was the greatest christian lady you'd ever want to meet.

>> tell me about this piece? >> a very special piece to my mom, a charm bracelet that was given to to mom in 1952 when they surprised dad with that show. it has a completely chronicle of his life. mom was in texas and then it chronicles their life in charms and it's made right here in new york. >> it's beautiful. and of course the music collection here of instruments -- >> guitars. >> your dad had a beautiful voice. >> absolutely. he started back in 1934 and of course they went on and just -- dad was signed his first contract in '38 and went on to become king of the cowboys. >> it's a piece of americana. we don't have the cowboys to idolize. >> not the same heroes we had. al, thank you, sir. >> thank you so much. people who want more information go to our website todayshow.com to find out about the roy rogers and dale evans collection that's being auctioned off at christie's. matt? al, thank you very much. in today's "cooking school" some simple steps for

♪

hey i'm donkey settin' sail far far away from far far away. we're out here in the caribbean. soakin' up some sun. woohoo shrek's got some move hi five boys, it's sushi time. i'm donkey, feeling the oce, gettin' my vacation on donkey style. why aren't you? ♪ ♪ red wine sauce and mushrooms. sound impossible? the chef and owner of a restaurant here in new york and

guest host on bravo's "top chef." good morning to you. >> good morning. how are you? >> great, thank you. you promised us this is really a simple recipe. >> yes, it's very simple actually. >> so let's get started. >> we have some salmon and filo dough. keep it so it doesn't get dry. >> and you can get this anywhere? >> anywhere in supermarkets. and then i'm going to apply some butter on the sheets of filo dough to make sure it gets not only nice flavor but some moisture to it so we are going -- >> you cover that whole thing? >> yes, make sure everywhere like that. >> got it. >> and then we have the beautiful steak, salmom steak. and what i'm doing, i'm using the filo dough. the salmon has salt and pepper on both sides. it goes here. i'm going to wrap it exactly like that. >> oh, all right.

>> it's simple. >> just all the way around? >> all the way around. so it's going to become very crunchy when it it cooks. i have red wine and shallots. you saute while i put the salmon in. you want to add some butter. >> how much butter? this much? >> yes, that much. maybe a tiny bit more. >> that's a lot of butter, isn't it, eric? >> now it's a little bit -- but we don't have to eat all the sauce. and then the salmon is going to take some color and crunch. >> so how long do you cook that? >> well, you have to look at it and see. you see the nice color on that side? so i know like i'm going to flip the fish.

like that. >> okay. >> and we are going to bring the fish into the oven. see, your sauce is ready. >> it's a masterpiece. >> so we are going to -- >> do i bring this with me or leave it? >> you can leave it there. we're putting the pish in the oven. >> all right. how long? >> and the fish stay about three or four minutes in the oven. >> at what temp? >> 400 degrees. >> okay. >> and then you see it comes out like that. and i'm going to slice it. >> now how do you slice this? >> you need a bread knife and you're going to hear the noise. you see, it's crunchy so you have the crunch and you need a good knife or a bread knife. >> so that salmon is medium rare or closer to rare? >> you can do it to medium rare or how you like it. i like the salmon rare because the more you cook it the less -- >> it gets dried out. >> and then i just have to plate

it so i'm going to use the salmon like that. >> it's so pretty. >> and we are going to put it like this. >> here they come, the hordes. >> bonjour. what did you call us? >> the hordes. you heard me. >> so we are going to arrange it like had a. >> this is really easy. >> it's very easy. >> are you suggesting you can do it, meredith? >> i think i might. i might be making you lunch. >> another piece like this. and then it doesn't watt to stay. >> that's all right. >> like salmon dominoes. >> and then we just put the sauce you made -- >> which is burning, oh, my gosh. thank you. >> so the sauce goes around like that. you see it. if you like the sauce you can put more. >> and quickly we're running out of time. you have a mushroom -- >> a mushroom casserole.

mushrooms with garlic and shallots. >> thank you so mu >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am in december. the harford county sheriff's office need your help locating a rape suspect. the 25-year-old anthony eugene robinson forced the victim into his vehicle early sunday morning at west dollar avenue in aberdeen and reportedly drove for to a secluded area and raped her. andis described as 5'8" called with a thick beard. -

>> now let's take a look at the forecast with tony pann. >> after th storee last

night, there are few thunderstorms to pop up as we head into the afternoon. otherwise, a mixture of clouds and sunshine. humid, with high temperatures in the mid-to-upper-80's. there may be heavy rain in a few areas. tomorrow, another chance for showers and thunderstorms, mostly in the morning. it will be hot, with high temperatures and a dealer-to- mid-90's. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another update at 9:25.